Lights and Sounds
by MegaTJ
Summary: What starts out as a birthday surprise quickly blossoms into something that Vinyl Scratch never though would happen in a million years.
1. Surprise!

Surprise!

The cool, crisp air of Ponyville nipped at Vinyl Scratch's face. Her body was damp with the sweat of adrenaline, and her heart was still pounding from the concert. Only performing could do that to her—give her the excitement and rush of energy every DJ dreams of achieving.

"Boy what a crowd!" she announced to the empty street. She barely heard her words over the ear buds in her ears blasting music into her head. Vinyl took a deep breath and quickened her pace, eager to get home after such a fun night. Her bed was practically calling her name! A few turns and sometime later, she reached the end of Apple Avenue.

She withdrew a key from her saddle bag with her magic, slid it into the keyhole of the door of the largest music shop in town, and turned the lock. She walked in and tossed her music player to the table next to the coat rack and wriggled her saddlebag to the floor. Tapping into her magic energy, she started a small spell. In an instant, every light in the shop flicked on.

"SURPRISE!"

Vinyl's heart nearly shot out of her chest, but instead took her to her rear hooves prepared with a Plasma Bolt for the nearest attacker. She relaxed a bit when she realized that it was just all of her friends and family. The glowing attack in her horn faded and she got back down on all four hooves, which caused some laughter rippled through the crowd.

"Okay…now that I know I'm not being mugged", Vinyl said to the crowd, "why are you guys all here?"

The reply was more laughter and, before anypony could speak, Pinkamena Diane Pie had appeared instantly in front of her. She pushed a party blower to the side of her mouth. "Well, _duh! _It's your birthday silly!" she explained with a generous blow of the party blower. "You know, candles, friends, presents, cake—" She stopped in a look of horror. "Oh no!" she gasped, "I was so busy with everything I forgot the cake! NO PONY MOVE UNTIL I GET BACK!"

In another instant Pinkie Pie disappeared, only to reappear three seconds later carrying a large, DJ decorated cake on her back. "All is well the cake is here!"

Some of the ponies humored her with a round of applause. She bowed to them, sliding the cake off of her rump and onto the table nearest her. She then disappeared again into the crowd to do Pinkie Pie things. As some of the others started to swarm her with happy birthdays and hugs, Vinyl found there was something amiss. It seemed as if Pinkie Pie had forgotten one other crucial, and aural, ingredient for the party.

"Hey, where's the music?" she asked looking around. "Is Strings going to play?"

"Not this time, Vinyl", said a blue unicorn emerging from the crowd carrying a guitar on his back. "Pink and I know how much more you prefer techno over rock, so we got in touch with one of her old friends. Besides, most of the Shooting Stars couldn't make it tonight anyway."

"Aww that bites. Well, then, who's playing?"

As if she said the magic word, a low beat sounded throughout the shop. The lights flicked off and neon colored laser lights filled the darkness. Everything started glowing when black lights buzzed to life somewhere near the back. Many of the ponies cheered and turned to the rear of the shop, where a large, yet portable, DJ stand was set up.

Static followed the beat and was soon replaced by quickened electronic notes, intricately placed one after the other. Vinyl was instantly drawn to the electric music. She navigated the crowd while fighting the urge pushing anypony aside. The stage came into full view as she cleared the final row of spectators. It was then she saw the pony responsible for putting out such vivid music shuffling from side to side in the stand.

He was a vibrant pale blue Earth Pony. His short mane and not-so-short tail sported a pale creamy color. On his head sat a black hat with a white blank front panel. His ears were covered by a large gray pair of headphones with a microphone attached to them.

"This is a little something I cooked up just for the birthday girl!" he announced loudly. His voice was magnified three times too much for the room's size. Apparently he couldn't hear it due to his headphones, and for some reason he didn't see some of the partygoers recoil against the sound wave. It even shook Vinyl up.

Everypony forgot it when he started back on the keyboard. The palpable notes were put out a second time, producing terrific trance music. It wasn't much longer before everypony started to dance in time to his keyboard-striking hooves. The music was both slow and energetic, so the dancing started off somewhat rocky, however, everypony soon got into the groove and tried their best to impress the others. The colt alternated between his keyboard and his records, and Vinyl—using her professional knowledge—found that he wasn't the best mixer in the world, or at least, he hadn't been at it for long.

Vinyl scooted her way to the stand, hoping to get a better look at this DJ. As she closed in on him, she knew for a fact he was a beginner. The way scratched was too rough. If he kept it up, he would certainly permanently damage his records. She stepped into the booth just as he turned around to play the keyboard again. He saw her and pushed a button on the console. The music switched to a prerecorded verse that he had recorded with the keyboard some time before.

"So", he said with a removal of his headpiece, "Do you like what I've put together?"

"I think you need some practice", Vinyl teased.

His smile faded.

"But", Vinyl continued, "Everypony's liking it. You're not half bad, kid."

"Kid?" he echoed, somewhat offended, "Pinkie Pie says I'm only a year younger than you are!"

"Yeah, but you aren't all that tall." She gave his head a rub. For more aggravation, she added with a toothy grin, "Kid."

He grumbled slightly, but just shrugged it off with a roll of his eyes. "Do you really like it?"

She nodded, "For somepony that's just starting off, you're pretty good. How long?"

"Two months."

"I take that back." Vinyl stared widely at him. "You're really good. Just two months?"

"Well", he replied, "Just on the discs. I've been a keyboarder for most of my life. Started out on piano. I'm pretty sure you can tell."

Vinyl cocked her head to the side. Of all of her questions, she had forgotten one. "What's your name?"

He jumped slightly. "W-well, that depends…" He swallowed nervously.

"On?"

"Do you want my real name or my stage name?"

Vinyl found his sheepish smile kinda cute, so she asked, "Why not both?"

"Ok", he gulped, "M-my name is Trance Jammer."

"And your stage name?"

"K3ybord LIghtz."

"Lights?"

"I'm a light show artist too." He forced himself to smile.

"Ah", she replied, "Well, my name is—"

"Vinyl Scratch." He smiled wider. "I already know that."

"That doesn't surprise me", she said with a small giggle.

Suddenly, the music stopped. The recorded song had finished playing through.

Instinctively, Trance jumped back on his keyboard. At the same time, Vinyl jumped on the discs. The crowd went wild as both the keyboard and the mixer blasted their sound waves in a musical explosion. Trance hit a button on his overhead dashboard and the lights on his stand started dashing around the room and flicker over the crowd.

The two musical ponies were completely in sync with each other despite only being slightly aware of the other's existence for the collaborative performance. Their music blended evenly: one producing one beat as the other dropped a beat. The song suddenly picked up and continued to get faster and faster until Vinyl threw up her hooves and Trance slammed his down onto his keyboard, officially ending the song with a loud boom. The lights froze in place.

Applause roared from the crowd followed by whistling and finally shouts for an encore. Vinyl looked at her friends and just realized that she had just given them the best performance she had ever put on. She spun around to see Trance still hovering over his keyboard. His hooves were still firmly planted on the keys. Then she noticed him shaking.

She walked over to him. "Hey, you okay, Kid?"

Upon seeing his face, she saw that there were tears running down his eyes. He muttered something.

"What?" Now she was starting to get concerned.

"My first applause." He flashed her a bright smile. "Thanks, Vinyl."

**T**

"I take it you're not much of a stage goer, huh?"

Vinyl and Trance were walking through the shop. The Earth Pony had set his control panel to autopilot, leaving a steady beat vibrating through the floor, walls, and the ponies themselves.

Trance smiled sheepishly. "No, just not a good one…"

"Stage fright?"

He nodded. "I'm a big scaredy-cat onstage", he sighed.

Vinyl decided not to go deeper into it. She knew that stage fright could be pretty embarrassing and hard on a pony. She shuddered at the thought of her amateur days. "I really liked the song, kid", she complimented.

His eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that reminds me." He removed his hat and rummaged through it until he withdrew a small, white cassette tape. He had taped a red bow to it. He hoofed it to her. "It's a mix tape of my, umm, 'Pinkie Pie proclaimed' greatest hits. I hope you liked it…"

She turned it over. Scribbled on the other side in the keyboarder's hoofwriting, he had written:

_To My Biggest Idol,_

_From Your Biggest Admirer,_

_T.J._

_1\. Light Up Your World_

_2\. Forecasting Dreams_

_3\. Mountains of Hearts_

_4\. Special Someponies_

_5\. Tell Her (About Your Love)_

_6\. Just for You_

_7\. Figure Me Out_

"Don't call me weird, but they're all love songs", Trance said as she read over them. "They're also the only songs I've produced that have lyrics…"

Vinyl looked at him. Even through the black lights, she could tell that he was blushing fiercely. She glanced back at the tape. "You're really full of surprises, huh Kid?"

"I should probably get used to that nickname, huh?"

She grinned. "Yep. That is, until it gets old. I give it a week."

They came to stop at the snack table. A card sat upright on the table. Vinyl levitated it up to her. She read aloud, "Hope this satisfies your sweet tooth, love, the Cakes."

"Ooooh, Sugarcube Corner goodies, the gifts just keep coming!" Trance exclaimed.

"Gifts?" Vinyl gave him a very confused look. This was her birthday, wasn't it?

"Oh, I guess Pinkie Pie didn't tell you." The look he was receiving from Vinyl definitely confirmed that. "It's my birthday too…"

"Oh, really? Happy birthday!" Vinyl cheered happily. That explained the many unfamiliar ponies in the shop.

He grinned. "Thanks."

"I just wish I had a present to give you", she pondered to herself, "With the song and the tape I kinda feel bad."

"Nah, that's okay. I got to come here to play, I got my first applause, and I got to meet _and _play beside my hero! I can't ask for anything else."

"'Play beside your hero?'" she asked with a slight giggle. "That's flattering."

"I really mean it. You're the pony that gave me the love of music. You're the reason I took up keyboarding and DJing."

Vinyl saw that behind the admiration his void purple eyes held, something more lay. What it was, though, she couldn't tell. She knew there was definitely something.

"You know, Kid. I think you and I are gonna be real good friends."

**T**

_Three hours later…_

The lights were now back on in the shop, and everypony had since started to leave the awesome party. Trance packed up his stand, and Vinyl was beginning to pick the place up. She grabbed a broom and got to sweeping when Strings walked up carrying a passed out Pinkie Pie on his back.

"Scratch, we're gonna bale. Pink had a sugar overload. Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"You guys go home, I can handle this", she said over her shoulder.

He nodded and walked away, being careful not to wake Pinkie Pie.

Trance waited until everypony had gone, then started pushing shelves back into their respective places.

Vinyl heard him, and called, "You can go, I can get it by myself later!"

He popped his head around a corner. "I'll stay. Besides, there's a lot to do and you're probably already tired."

"Aren't you tired?" She kept her back to him. If she turned around, he would see how tired she was even through her shades. For some reason she didn't want to burden him with cleaning.

"I'm a pony of the night", he explained, "I can stay up for a couple more hours."

She didn't say anything, so for a while the two just cleaned in silence with only the sound of sweeping and shuffling to accompany them. It was after maybe ten minutes when Trance decided to speak up.

"So, um, I was wondering…" He stopped cleaning to look at her.

"Yeah?" Her back was to him again; she was busy emptying her dust pan into the trash.

"Do you think that maybe Saturday we could hang out?" He bit his lip. "I mean, if you're not busy."

She perked up and turned. Giving him a huge smile, she said, "That'd be awesome!"

Trance turned back around. "Yes!" he silently cheered. Vinyl pretended not to hear him. It would only have embarrassed him.

She let him have his joy, because for all Trance knew, this was the most perfect birthday ever.

**And we have our next story up! This was written a few years ago, so you'll notice the difference in writing styles until after chapter three.**


	2. Trance

Trance

Vinyl woke up the next morning to the sun shining on her face. Lazily, she yawned and stretched her sore muscles. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the warm sun was a product of her falling asleep on the balcony of her home. She yawned again, then wondered exactly why she had fallen asleep on her balcony chair. She rolled over onto her hooves and looked around, as if something on the balcony was going to tell her why. She opened the glass door to her kitchen and was met with a blast of icy air. She jumped in shock and nearly slammed the door closed to get away from it.

"What the!?" Everything was so weird. She didn't keep it that cold in the house. And she rarely ever slept on the balcony. What was going on?

She grabbed a sweater from one of the stools in her kitchen to combat the cold while she started a one-mare detective agency to find out just what in Equestria was responsible for the strange phenomena. She slipped it over her head and crossed the hall that lead from the kitchen to her room. The white unicorn pushed in the door to her room and froze when she saw the blankets on her bed rise and fall with the breaths of somepony beneath them. Now everything made sense.

The night before, Trance Jammer was about to leave for his hotel when Vinyl offered to let him stay the night instead. He readily agreed and she gave him her room while she camped out on the balcony under the stars. As for the arctic temperature inside, she could only guess he turned the thermostat down to help him sleep.

She crossed the room to the bed and saw he hung his hat on the banister. She smiled teasingly and snatched it up. From there she slipped it backwards onto her head. Vinyl moved to the right side of the bed to get a better look at the snoozing colt. He was out cold and didn't look like he was going to wake up anytime soon. She took that moment to gaze of her sleeping form.

He was practically the same way she left him last night. The only thing different were the lighter cream highlights at the tips of his mane. Other than that, he was exactly the same before she went to bed: passed out and snoring.

Deciding that she had watched him sleep long enough, she left the room and made her way back to the kitchen. She used her magic to pull open the cabinets and fridge and levitate out materials and ingredients for breakfast. She set the nob for the front left burner at medium, and soon, the kitchen sprung alive with the sounds of cooking.

Meanwhile, Trance began to stir. He stretched and mumbled in his sleep to the point of waking himself up. Then, as his normal morning tradition, he jumped straight out of bed and landed on all four hooves. With a final yawn, he opened his eyes, revealing that it didn't much improve his vision against the dark room that didn't look at all like the hotel room he had booked. Memories from the night before combined with the purple blanket twisted up onto the bed finally provided him with enough evidence to realize where exactly he spent the last night. A blush flew across his face upon realizing he just slept in Vinyl Scratch's bed. And he was in her _room. _Panic hit him over the head with a two by four.

"Oh, man", grimaced to himself, "Red light. Red light!"

He glanced around to the banister where he left his hat. He nearly fainted when he saw that its absence. However, when he saw Vinyl's shades had replaced it, he sighed and grinned to himself. He snatched them from the perch. He tried slipping them on, but had a hard time keeping the armless glasses to balance on his nose. He practiced with them and got them to stay in place after a few seconds. The dark room instantly went black behind the violet lenses. He raised them above his eyes to find his way to the door.

Vinyl's back was to the hallway when Trance walked in. He watched her from the doorway as she cooked. She zipped back and forth from one frying pan to another with blinding speed. Before he woke up, she had already set the table for both of them. His hat was perched backwards atop her head. _Wow…_he thought_…she looks good in my hat._ A blush grew from that thought. He shifted his weight, causing a board underneath him to creak.

Her ear twitched. "Morning, Kid!"

"Aww…horseshoes!"

She motioned him over.

He walked over curiously. "Yeah?"

In a snap, she whipped a one-eighty and shoved a spoonful of whatever she was cooking into his mouth. The taste of cherries washed over his tongue. He savored the home cooking so slowly several hours could have passed.

"You like?" she giggled, holding another spoonful up to him.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's really good!" He opened his mouth for more.

She rolled her eyes and slipped the spoon back into his mouth. "It's something my mom taught me when I was little."

Trance gulped down the second mouthful. "What is it?"

"Cherry oatmeal", she chirped.

"I want a lot of that!" He moved to look over her shoulder to see the top of the stove.

"You hafta help me with something first." She backed away from the stove and levitated a spoon up to his face. Before he could ask, she answered, "Keep stirring the pots. I'm going to make some batter for pancakes."

"I don't think the continental breakfast at the hotel can top this!" He grabbed the spoon in his teeth and started stirring.

"Thanks", Vinyl replied as she poured about half a bag of pancake mix into a large bowl. "Not many ponies get to taste my cooking. Believe it or not, I don't get much noncustomer company."

Trance pulled his face back to avoid the heat coming from the saucepan. "Really?" He raised an eyebrow. A famous pony like Vinyl Scratch not getting constant attention seemed unreal to him. "You mean you don't have hundreds of ponies beating on your door trying to see you?" He dipped his stirring spoon into another pot.

"Nope", said Vinyl, pouring some water into the bowl. "Ponyville is full of ponies that have tons of respect for me. They know how hard it is already."

"Huh. Good thing you aren't in Manehattan." He switched pots. His poor motion resistance started to plague him with nausea, but he kept stirring anyway. If she was going to be nice enough to cook him an awesome breakfast then it was the least he could do to return her kindness. Not that he wasn't thinking of a better way or anything.

Vinyl smirked teasingly. She opened a drawer and levitated out two more spoons. She took Trance's and started stirring all three pots at once while she mixed the pancake batter.

"Hey, why didn't you do that in the first place?" Trance asked challengingly. "I mean, besides being lazy."

A fourth spoon smacked him in the back of the head. It didn't hurt, but it did take him by surprise.

Vinyl laughed at his shocked expression. "Don't mess with me, Kid."

Behind her glasses, his features slowly faded into a defeated, but soft smile. Vinyl sure was something else.

**T**

Clinking and clanging echoed throughout the kitchen. Trance scrubbed the breakfast dishes in the sink thoroughly before hoofing them off to Vinyl. She rinsed the kitchenware and set them in their respectful places on the drying rack.

"How is it I'm helping you with _your _chores?" Trance asked as he pushed another plate her way.

"Because I'm lazy", she simply joked with a smirk. "Can't do all this myself."

"I'm your guest, shouldn't you be catering to me?"

"Oh, come on, didn't your parents make you do dishes when you were little?"

"Why do you think I don't wanna wash'em now?"

She laughed, "Ha! Guess that makes sense!" She levitated the last plate into the rack and pulled the plug in the sink.

Now that the terrific breakfast was behind them, there was nothing left to do. The morning was quiet, and Celestia had barely gotten the sun a quarter of the way into the sky. Being a lazy Wednesday, everypony was undoubtedly still sleeping in. The inside of the shop was busy warming up; Vinyl had turned the thermostat up a touch. The cold air didn't exactly agree with her sinuses.

She sniffed. "I hafta open the shop in an hour. You wanna do anything until then?"

He dried his hooves with a towel. "Sure thing! What can we do?"

"It's up to you, Kid."

"How about coming up with a new nickname for me?" he said teasingly.

"Not a chance."

He rolled his eyes. He remembered the tape he gave to Vinyl last night and that gave him an idea. "It's my first time here, so why don't you show me around the shop?"

"Hm…that sounds cool." She trotted downstairs with Trance following happily behind. "It's pretty much your average music store", Vinyl said once they got to the first floor. "Ya know, CDs, shelves, demos, floor, ceiling, and walls."

She walked him in and out of the shelves, showing him everything the shop had to offer. It was when she led him past a shelf of headphones that she knew she had something she wanted to do. She grabbed his hooves and dragged him across the shop.

"Whoa, where we going?" he asked, trying to keep his balance while she pulled him into the shop's warehouse.

"I wanna show you something awesome!" She slowed to a stop in front of a small pile of boxes. An industrial label on the side read PonyTech. One of the boxes was already open, and she levitated a smaller box out. Inside the box was a pair of black and red headphones.

Trance snatched the box out of the air. "Are these the new PonyTech E2-Dragon Fires?!"

"Yep."

"These things aren't even out on the market yet!" he exclaimed. "How did you get'em?"

"PonyTech releases their new stuff about a week early", she explained. "I made sure I was one of the first to jump on the premiere order list. Only five shops in Equestria have them right now."

He held the box back out to her. She merely grinned.

His head turned on its side. "What?"

"Happy birthday."

His body went numb with excitement. "A-are you sure?"

She nodded, and then cheekily said, "Unless you'd like a patented and autographed Vinyl Scratch kiss."

Trance's mind went blank. He shifted his gaze back and forth between Vinyl and the headphones. "Are you s-serious?"

The unicorn almost burst into a fit of laughter, but upon seeing his blood red blush covered face, she stopped with the teasing. "Sorry, Kid, I didn't mean to give your hopes up…"

He shook his head quickly. "N-no, I m-mean, it's fine. Thanks so much for the headphones." He hugged them close, unsure of whether getting them from Vinyl Scratch or the headphones themselves was the better gift. _Still…_his thoughts echoed, _a kiss from her…_

Vinyl knew that she crossed the line when she saw the slight disappointment on the colt's face, so she decided to make it up to him. "Tell ya what, Kid. After our date Saturday, if you show me a good time, I'll kiss ya then."

The blush once again filled Trance's face. "D-d-date!?"

"Well, yeah, what else do you call asking a girl to take a Saturday off?" Vinyl asked.

"I don't know…a get-together, friendly visit…"

"It's a date", she said flatly, "We are going on a date."

_Oh, man, _he thought, _She saw right through me!_

Trance said nothing and nodded. The box in his hooves was practically begging him to tear it open and rip the headphones right out. Before he could make a move, Vinyl used her magic to levitate it away from him and neatly open it. In a matter of moments, she had the red and black speakers out of the box and slipped them over his ears.

"Oh, they are _so _you", she complimented.

"Really?" he asked shyly.

"You bet, Kid." She turned to leave the warehouse.

Along the way, she grabbed her own pair of Dragon Fires that were lying on a small table near the door. Hers were blue and white, making Trance wonder if she picked out a pair with a color scheme opposite of hers on purpose. He just shook his head at whatever conspiracy his overactive imagination was trying to come up with.

He followed the unicorn back through the shop and to a small stand near the staircase. She grabbed his tape from it and trotted up the stairs. It was then he noticed the speakers harnessed to the banister of the second floor. He followed the cables and found that they were hooked up to a stereo in the front of Vinyl's kitchen. To him, it looked like it played everything. It had a CD player, a record player, a tape deck, and even a poniPod dock. She opened the cassette player and inserted his tape. Upon pushing play, the speakers in the store started to play Trance's music. The first song that played was kind of slow, but it picked up to Vinyl's liking.

"Not bad", she complimented.

"Thanks. The lyrics kick in about halfway through."

"I'll hafta listen to them later." She checked the clock hanging above the hallway door. The time brought a sigh from her. "It's time to open up. If you don't wanna stay stuck in here all day, you can go out and explore. I'll be waiting for you."

"I can help out if you want."

"Nah, it's not going to be busy today", she said, walking back down the stairs.

He followed her to the door. She unlocked it and flipped the "closed" sign to "open.

Trance really didn't want to leave, but he didn't want to be a creepy obsessed colt and invade her space the whole day. "Well", he said, "I guess I can go find something to do."

"Hey", she said before he left out.

"Yeah?"

"Stop by at about twelve. We'll do lunch."

He felt his heart pick up its pace.

"Y-yeah! I'll be here!"

"I hope so." Vinyl gave him a flirtatious wink.

He turned around and walked off with a wide grin. "Oh, man", he said under his breath, "She's so awesome!"

**I'm so glad I already had the next two chapters of this story already written, it's really going to cut down on the delays. And I've got a school holiday coming up, so if I really work on it, I should cut them down to miniscule delays if even that.**

**If you already didn't know, there's a new poll on my profile asking for opinions about the stories of this writing season, so if you'd like to share, I'd really like to see what you think of them.**

**Trivia:**

**I went through a brief phase last season where I came up with OCs for all of the background and lesser-seen ponies. Trance was the first on that list.**

**Little is changing in these chapters since I started to publish these years old words, so my original plot idea is the exact same.**


	3. Catching Up

Catching Up

The spring in Trance's step solidly confirmed his heart's happiness. He bounced through the streets of Ponyville without having the slightest clue as to where he was going to stop. He was so preoccupied with his delight that he no longer noticed that he had left with Vinyl's glasses. It wouldn't have mattered anyway; he loved how she just let him leave with them. To him that meant she trusted him, and that was more than he could have ever have asked for. And now he had a _date _with her! By Celestia's tiara he had a date with Vinyl Scratch!

"Hey, Trance!"

Pinkie Pie's shout was enough to rip the stallion from his reveries and land him back in reality. Finally taking in his surroundings, he found that Pinkie Pie was bouncing right beside him. "Hey, Pinkie Pie!"

"Where are you going?"

He stopped his bouncing. With a slightly embarrassed smile, he replied, "I really don't know. Somewhere, heheh."

"Hey, I'm going somewhere too! Wanna come with me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, let's go Pinkie Pie!"

She squealed in delight and kept bouncing along to her previous destination. He followed behind, somewhat relieved he was no longer bouncing aimlessly through Ponyville. To his surprise she led him all the way to Sugarcube Corner. The giant building was very different since his last visit.

"Whoa, a lot's changed since I was last here", he said, taking a look around the sweets shop. It was way more spacious than he last remembered, and there were now display cases in the counters. "Hey, is the old hangout booth still here?"

"Does a parasprite gobble up everything in sight?" Pinkie Pie asked in return.

"It is!?" Trance didn't waste any more time. In a flash, he was in a full sprint, headed for the far corner of Sugarcube Corner. He couldn't believe it. After all these years, the old booth was still in Sugarcube Corner. He ran his hoof along the top of the table, where he, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Lyra had all etched their names. It wasn't the happiest they had ever made Mr. and Mrs. Cake, but since the Corner was like the group's second home, the couple decided to let it slide.

"Hey, Pinkie?"

"The usual?" She asked with a giggle.

"Read my mind."

"Oki Doki Loki!" He watched her zip to the back of the shop, just like she did back when she was only helping out in the kitchen.

Trance scooted into his place in the booth. So many memories swam back just by sitting in his old spot. He looked around at all of the changes the Cakes and Pinkie Pie had made to the place. He found it more peaceful with the new décor. One thing did strike him as odd though. "Why is it so dark in here?"

"That's because you're wearing sunglasses, silly!" Pinkie Pie had returned in record time. She couldn't wait to catch up with him!

"Huh?" Trance focused his eyes to Vinyl's glasses. He blushed hard upon seeing that he was still wearing them.

"Hey, you're turning red!" Pinkie Pie announced to the whole diner.

"Pinkie Pie!" he exclaimed. "Don't let the world know!"

"Oops", she said awkwardly, "Sorry!"

She sat opposite of him in her old spot and slid his favorite desert across the table to him. "There ya go! One super-sized Chocolate Mountain! On the house!"

He licked his lips. "Man, I haven't had one of these in years!"

That seemed to have touched a nerve with Pinkie Pie. Just as Trance was about obliterate his snack, he saw how upset she had become.

"Pinkie Pie?" He pushed the chocolate desert aside. "What's wrong?"

_Meanwhile…_

It wasn't long after Trance left when Bon Bon walked in. Vinyl didn't see her, nor did she hear the door open. She was too busy cleaning behind the sales counter.

Bon Bon trotted over. "Hey, Vinyl!"

"What's up, Bonny Bon?" Vinyl asked, setting her rag down.

"Nothing much, just came by to say hi."

"Is that all?" Vinyl asked sarcastically.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"How long have we been friends?"

"Okay, you got me", Bon Bon admitted, holding up her hooves.

Vinyl grinned victoriously.

"I was wondering if that new Shooting Star album is in", Bon Bon explained, "I figured I've waited long enough to ask."

Vinyl shook her head. "Sorry, Bon, but I still haven't seen it", she said before adding with a chuckle, "I'm starting to wonder if the delivery ponies got robbed."

"I've been waiting forever alrea—" Bon Bon started. She stopped after hearing the music playing throughout the store.

Vinyl would have to have been blind not to see Bon Bon's shocked expression. "You okay?"

It took the Earth Pony a second to get over her frozen state. Then, just as Vinyl was about to shake her back to reality, Bon Bon began to sway with the music. She shuffled lightly in tune to the song's beat. "Vinyl, this song is…is…"

"Amazing?" Vinyl had listened to Trance's other songs, and the one that was now playing had to be her favorite so far. _Kid's got skill,_ she thought.

"Yeah…"

Bon Bon's dancing didn't last much longer. Trance's song slowly faded away, leaving the shop with interlude. "Vinyl, who is that song by?"

"Tr—uh…K3bord LIghtz", she said, almost forgetting to use Trance's stage name.

"They're good!"

"He", Vinyl corrected.

"He's good", Bon Bon said in a daze. She quickly recovered and said, "Please tell me you have a tape!"

"Oh, sorry, Bon", Vinyl apologized, "I only have one, and it was a present from him."

"Oh, please please please let me borrow it!" Bon Bon begged.

Vinyl didn't exactly like the idea of parting with the tape she got from Trance. She scratched the back of her head. "Umm…"

Bon Bon widened her eyes as far as they would go. She even poked her lip out a bit.

"Ugh, fine", Vinyl huffed. "But only under one condition."

"What's that?"

"He has to let me let you borrow it. I mean, he did give it to me."

"Okay, so how long will that take?"

"I'll tell you later after one."

"Okay, I'll be back by then. I hafta go tell Lyra!" Forgetting to ask Vinyl about her absent shades and new hat, she tore off for the exit.

Vinyl turned as Bon Bon shot out of the shop. _That pony_, she said with a shake of her head. Vinyl knew very well that half of Ponyville would soon know about the great new music playing in her shop. She shook off anymore thoughts of it. She knew it was useless to dwell on things outside of the day's work.

Trance never thought he would see the day Pinkie Pie's smile would disappear. It just seemed so unnatural, almost like the sign of the apocalypse. Fortunately, he always knew how to cheer her up. He scooted out of his side of the booth and in beside her. He put his hooves around her and pulled her into a big hug. And, just like old times, he moved his hoof down to her most sensitive tickle spot and let her have it.

"Heeheehee!" she giggled, "Trancy stop it!"

"Then smile", Trance laughed.

"I am I am! Hahahaha!" Pinkie Pie laughed in between breaths.

Ignoring her obvious expression, Trance said, "Nope, I don't think you are!"

Pinkie Pie smiled as wide as she could. She knew it was in vain, though; Trance wouldn't stop until HE got tired. Fortunately for her, the stares they were getting were enough to deter his interest level. A light pink blush settled on his cheeks from slight embarrassment.

"That's what I'm talking about, Pinkie", Trance said as Pinkie Pie gave a sigh through her smile.

"Phew! You're the best tickler around!" Pinkie straightened up.

"I still got it." Trance left her side of the booth for his and once again glanced at his Chocolate Mountain. Knowing that it would be unfair, he centered it on the table.

Instantly, Pinkie Pie knew what he was thinking. "One", she counted.

"Two", Trance continued.

"Three!" They shouted together.

Needless to say, the giant bowl of ice cream didn't stand a chance. The carnage was over almost as soon as it started, which was probably a Ponyville record. Maybe even on an Equestrian scale. Record breaking wasn't even remotely on either of their minds, though; just the taste was.

"I miss doing that!" Trance shouted with a burp.

"Me too." Pinkie Pie licked a large glob of sticky ice cream from her mouth and cheeks.

"Hey, maybe we can get Rainbow and Lyra together later and hang out just like old times!" It would make Trance so happy if the four of them got together for an evening in Sugarcube Corner.

"Yeah! I'll go get them right now!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

Trance watched her dash out of Sugarcube Corner. He wondered what he was going to do now that the ball of energy was gone. It wasn't time to go meet up with Vinyl yet, which gave him about a couple hours to kill. He was about to get up when the empty bowl levitated from his table and into the kitchen. He looked around and saw a blue unicorn bussing the tables. _Hey, that's that colt who carried Pinkie Pie home last night…_

Curiosity hit, causing Trance to stand up and walk up to the unicorn. He was too busy to notice him at first, but then he turned around to head back into the kitchen. Trance was standing closer than he intended and was now nose to nose with him.

Strings flinched at Trance's sudden appearance. "Ummm…can I help you?"

Trance didn't say anything right off. He was trying to pick a question from the few hundred that were swimming around in his head. He chose one that, in his opinion, was sort of ridiculous. "You new in Ponyville?"

Strings frowned in confusion. "Yeah, kinda. Why?"

"Just never seen ya around…"

"Hey, if you wanna talk or something", Strings said, "my shift ends in two hours. We're kinda busy today, so I can't really talk."

Trance nodded, and then apologized for the interruption. He was now really frustrated with himself. "You new in Ponyville?" Trance mocked himself on the outside of Sugarcube Corner. "How about, 'Hey, I saw you with Pinkie Pie, who are you?' or something like that?" He planted a hoof to his forehead. "Way to go Trance. Way. To. Go."

The Earth Pony decided to quell his frustration by walking back to Vinyl's shop. He wasn't exactly sure where it was, but he had a pretty good idea. A lot might have changed since Trance was last in Ponyville, but he still basically knew it like the back of his hoof. "I might even run into a couple of my…" Trance began. Hey, that was a great idea! "I'll go see my friends!" he yelled right into the face of a random—and now terrified—mare. She recoiled and backed away slowly from the crazy colt. Trance barely noticed as he turned to take off. He only got about three steps to his destination before crashing right into a second mare.

They both hit the ground pretty hard, sending Vinyl's glasses flying right off Trance's nose. In a panic, he jumped up to catch them. To his horror he missed. He hit the ground once again and rolled over for a last attempt to catch the shades before they shattered on the hard ground. He didn't have to. Thankfully the yellow Pegasus he bumped into had caught them in her gentle hooves.

"Don't worry", said Fluttershy softly, "I caught them."

"Fluttershy!" Trance cheered. He jumped up to give her a really big hug.

The mare seized up. "E-excuse me", she squeaked, "Do I know you?"

Trance let her go and took a step back. "Fluttershy it's me! Trance!"

"Trance?" Fluttershy gave him a close look. "Trance Jammer?"

"Yeah!"

"Wow, you look so different…" Fluttershy gave him back Vinyl's shades. "I'm sorry…I didn't know it was you…"

"Glad you haven't changed." Trance smiled widely. He was just having the best of luck, bumping into everypony he knew. "Good old Flutters!"

She blushed, "No pony has called me that in a long time…"

"I was the only one!" Trance laughed.

"I know", she said softly. "I never forgot about you."

"Hey, let's get back to the cottage so we can catch up!"

Fluttershy nodded. She turned, "It's so good to see you again, Trance."

"I know right! I miss you guys so much!" He followed her through the crowded streets of Ponyville.

"We missed you too." Fluttershy replied.

"How're things going?"

"Fine." Fluttershy looked away to gaze idly at anything but him.

"Fluttershy?"

"Why did you leave us?" she asked calmly, still refusing to face him.

There was a cold chill in her voice that left Trance with a shiver. "It wasn't like I wanted to…"

"Why didn't you write?" The coldness in her voice dropped a few degrees with that question.

Trance sighed. "It's complicated, but believe me, I really wanted to. I even tried." He rounded the mare's flank to hopefully get back into her line of sight, a plan she stomped into the ground by gazing at a few birds flying back in the opposite direction. It was heartbreaking to have her ignore him like that, whether or not he deserved it. Trance felt he had betrayed her, as well as everypony else he knew all those years ago. He sighed. "Fluttershy…please…"

His change of tone was the only reason the mare turned. When her eyes fell on him, she beheld an almost crying colt. He removed Vinyl's glasses to reveal that he wasn't faking. Guilt was the next thing to fall, overwhelming Fluttershy so much that she was forced to put her hooves around him in a gentle Fluttershy hug. Despite a few ponies sending stares in their direction, they could feel the ice from the last few freezing moments melt away. Only when she let him go did the Pegasus realize what she did. A blush rose to her cheeks and nose, fueled mostly by the big, goofy grin that Trance was known for.

"Are we still going to the cottage?" he asked.

She nodded, and they were continuing off. Along the way, a few small conversations ensued, some about what it was life was like for them nowadays, some about family, and even some about their pets. Of course, Fluttershy took that part over with her endless list of furry, feathered, and scaled friends. They happened upon her cottage a few minutes later, where a yellow Earth Pony was busy watering the flowers near the porch.

"Whoa…" Trance let his eyes wander over the many changes of the in-tree home. "Renovation, much?"

Fluttershy laughed quietly. "It has grown a few feet since you were last here."

"A few?" he exhaled incredulously, "It even grew an attic!" He followed the trunk back down to the Earth Pony working with the foliage. "And a butler?"

The Pegasus giggled. "No, that's Daylight."

Feeling their conversation on him, he turned around. With a friendly, the yellow pony approached them, namely Trance Jammer. For some reason, the shorter Earth Pony felt a bit intimidated. "Hey, Fluttershy, who's your friend?"

"Oh, um, Daylight, this is Trance Jammer, an old friend from my foalhood. Trance, this is Daylight, my…coltfriend", she introduced with a heavily red face.

"Nice to meet you." Trance put his hoof out for Daylight to shake, and, to his relief the taller pony shook it.

"Pleasure's mine", replied Day happily.

Fluttershy then took the two inside, and the second Trance was over the threshold, he had the oddest feeling he was forgetting something…

**A subtle cliffhanger of bad things to come, or a cliffhanger depicting a comedic start for the next chapter?**

**I'm getting chapters out at an even rate now! Woohoo! You know what this calls for? A PARTY!**

**Trivia:**

**Back when they were all young, Fluttershy had a crush on Trance, which is the reason for her out-of-character-but-understandable-subzero conversation with the colt.**

**Trance's portable DJ/Keyboard booth was packed up and sent back to where he lived. Derpy Hooves and a small moving crew helped get it on its way while Vinyl and Bon Bon were having their conversation.**


	4. Lunch Talk

Lunch Talk

Vinyl aimlessly fiddled with the three bits remaining atop her counter. She stole a glance at her clock again, which read ten past one. She was now at the point where she definitely knew Trance wasn't coming. Waiting for him that long had already put her into deep hunger, and she couldn't starve herself giving him more time to show up. Disappointed, she stood to leave. On her way out she grabbed her saddlebags, her poniPod, and keys.

The day's light outside hit her eyes hard, reminding her the only protection she had was from Trance's hat. "I can't believe he bailed on me", she told her lock as she turned it around, "I thought he was cooler than that…" Vinyl set out for the nearest place to eat.

"Hey! Vinyl!" called Trance from behind. She turned to see him galloping as fast as he could to her. "I…I…" he panted when he slid to a stop.

"Hey, breathe, Kid", she laughed.

He straightened up. "Sorry I'm mad late. I got caught up with an old friend. I didn't mean to miss lunch…"

"Well, it's a good thing I waited on ya."

"You waited for me?" he deadpanned. "This long?"

She nodded. "It blows to have lunch by yourself, so I gave ya a little time to get here. To you know, keep me company."

He blinked. "Whoa, uh, thanks."

"Don't mention it", she replied, leading him to lunch. "So, who had ya so caught up?"

"My friend Fluttershy. We went to school together way back when I lived in Ponyville."

"You're from here?"

"Yep, before I moved."

"I thought you were from outta town. Ya know, because of the hotel thing."

Trance shrugged. "I'm actually surprised anypony remembers me. I didn't exactly leave on a _good_bye. But that's all over and done with now, and I'm too hungry to remember it."

Vinyl stopped. "That's great, because we're here."

Trance looked up from her face to see that during their conversation, they had manage to trot across five blocks, coming to a stop at a new restaurant he didn't remember being there from years ago. "'Pepper's?'" he read from the sign.

She grinned and nodded. "Yeah, just opened up with a new foreign food from Ifilly. Ever heard of pizza?"

"Sounds like a virus", he replied with a shake of his head.

"It's the best! Come on!"

He followed her into the pizzeria, where a delightful new smell sent him into bliss. Vinyl laughed at his pleasure-filled expression. "I know, right?" She took a big whiff of the aroma. "Gets better every time."

She led him to the back, where high tables rose from the floor. Shortly after they climbed into the towering stools a lemon yellow Pegasus fluttered over to take their order. "Velcome to Pepper's!" he greeted, "And vhat can I get you two fine ponies today?"

Since Trance just learned what pizza was, Vinyl took over from there. "I'm really craving a banana pepper and wheat right now", she told him.

"Ah, excellent! And to drink?"

"Hmm…Sunburst Cola", Vinyl decided, "What do you want, Kid?"

"Water."

"Water?" she said while their server left for the kitchen, "Kinda boring, don'tcha think?"

"So I like to keep my teeth white." He smirked. "Sue me."

The unicorn rolled her eyes. Changing the subject, she said, "So, we really didn't lay anything out for Saturday."

"What?"

"You know, our date. I was thinking earlier that you just asked to hang out. Like, you didn't say when or where."

Trance scratched his head. "Oh, yeah…I didn't even think I'd get far enough to work out the details…heheh."

Vinyl smiled. He was really cute when he got nervous. "How about a movie?"

"I don't know what's playing this weekend…but sure. A movie sounds cool."

The evil teasing side that dwelled inside of her worked an evil grin up Vinyl's face. "Good, we can watch a romantic one. With lots of smooching." To top off her flirt, she gave him a generous wink.

Trance almost fell off his stool, getting a big laugh from the unicorn. "Haha! Oh, that's funny! I'm just messin' with ya, Kid!"

He laughed off the embarrassment. "Yeah, I really didn't take you for that kinda pony anyway…"

"What kinda pony is that?" she asked.

"You know, into that lovey dovey stuff."

"Believe it or not, Kid, I actually have a softer side."

Vinyl's confession came as a shock to the younger colt. He had always thought she was beyond sensitivity to a point. Maybe everything he thought he knew about the famous mare wasn't what he first thought after all. That made her a hundred times more interesting. He smiled. "I thought I was a DJ-Pon3 expert."

"You thought wrong", Vinyl chuckled.

"Your drinks!" announced their server happily, appearing out of nowhere. He placed both cups on their table. "Your pizza will be out as soon as it leaves zee oven."

"'It'?" Trance asked, "As in 'one'?"

"You'll see", Vinyl told him. "Anyway, back to our date Saturday, what time'll work for you? I can close down the shop whenever."

"How about six? It'll take about three hours for me to get here."

"Going back home?"

With a nod, he answered, "Yeah, later at about seven. Wish I could stay, but you know, gotta make money."

"Really, what do you do?"

"I write music for a record company." He shrugged. "Easy, but it takes a while."

"And _that _pays the bills?"

The skepticism in her voice was well placed, so Trance said, "Okay, you got me. My mom's music royalties help a little."

"She famous?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You could say that…" Trance took a sip of his water, trying to find a way off the subject. To his satisfaction, Vinyl was in no mood to pry. Instead, she veered somewhere else.

"Got a brother or sister?"

He shook his head. "Only foal."

"That bites."

"Tell me about it", he mumbled.

"Your pizza!" announced their waiter happily, sliding the steaming pie onto the table.

Trance studied the round pie. The melted cheese, a swamp which still bubbled with the heat of the oven, trapped helpless slices of banana peppers and shreds of wheat in its gooey clutches. Hints of oregano and other spices from Ifilly. He noticed it was cut like a pie, which was odd, until Vinyl levitated a slice onto his plate he didn't realized was sitting in front of him.

"Come on, try it!" she said with a mouthful of half of her slice.

It smelled okay to him, though he still took a small bite just in case his nose was leading him astray. The first thing his tastebuds picked up was the perfectly melted cheese. Even if that was the only thing that topped the crust, Trance would still have been more than happy to scarf down rest of the slice.

"Whoa whoa!" Vinyl laughed, "Chill out, Kid! It's not running from ya."

No longer on an eating rampage, Trance focused on his hooves, which were almost in his mouth. His face fell to the red plague of embarrassment. "I, uh, sorry…"

"I have _never_ seen somepony eat like that before", Vinyl commented, "Please don't tell me you do it for sport."

He shook his head. "I just like to eat."

She rolled her eyes. "That's obvious." Seeing how uncomfortable Trance was becoming with his food devouring episode, Vinyl the veered the conversation elsewhere. "How long have ya been living out of town?"

"About eight years. This is actually my first time back."

"Never even visited? Why?" Vinyl couldn't believe that somepony from Ponyville left and never came back. It was just too good a town for that kind of abandonment.

He looked into the glass of water he used to block his face from view. "I wish I could. I really don't want to go into why I couldn't…"

The unicorn studied the colt. On the outside, the colt upheld her idea of a fun pony. Now she knew that he carried some baggage that he didn't sound very proud of. Most colts she knew handled issues like that withdrew from society. Trance powered through it, though. He forced himself to be happy outside of his troubles. Vinyl liked that. In fact, she liked it a lot.

"That's cool", she said, "You can tell me when you feel like it."

He cracked a small smile. "Thanks."

After that, much of their conversation fell into idle chitchat. Nothing really interesting happened for the next few hours outside getting a surprise visit from Derpy Hooves. The day slipped away from the two ponies; sooner than either of them realized, Trance was waving Vinyl goodbye from the window of his train car window. They might have been slightly disheartened at having to see each other slip away into the distance, yet the overwhelming thought of knowing that in less than a week they would see each other conquered their minds.

When the Friendship Express disappeared over the horizon, Vinyl headed home. She didn't know it right then, but she had set in motion a chain of events that would change her and Trance's life forever.

**Short chapter. Very sweet. Much cuteness.**

**I had no idea how this chapter was going to turn out, as I kept running into roadblock after roadblock while writing.**

**That being said, I could use some major help revising this chapter. I feel it's very shallow and is mostly just a big pile of filler.**

**Trivia:**

**To be determined later.**


End file.
